Dear Friends,
Cindy Rollins says, “Morning Time is a liturgy of love.”
I recently reread Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins. It is such a delightful book. The first time I read it, I had a 5-, 2-, and 6-month-old baby. It’s so different to read it now that I've been homeschooling for about five years.
Cindy Rollins repeatedly says on her podcast, The New Mason Jar, that the Morning Time schedule or rhythm should be constructed organically. In other words, it should not be a structured curriculum. That said, I am grateful for those structured curriculums because they helped me when I was in the weeds.
“Morning Time is a way to collect little grains of sand. It should not be a way to complicate life but rather simplify it.” - Cindy Rollins.
After rereading Mere Motherhood, I revamped Morning Time to best suit my style and family. Now, morning time consists of all the subjects we do together. Independent work is considered school work.
So here is how I break down Morning Time:
- Benediction Table: Bible, memory verse, hymn, apologetics
- Beauty & Morality: Art, Music, Poetry, Habits, Spanish, Character study
- Gymnastics: Nature walk, YouTube kids workout video
After our nature walks, we get to the meaty subjects.
Reading Mere Motherhood a second time gave me the freedom to change the subjects as I see fit. See if you too can find your freedom to create a Morning Time that suits your family.
How do you do your Morning Time?
Yours Truly,
Mirley
P.S.
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Thank you for reading, and may your homeschool bring you joy.
We are going on almost twenty years of Morning Time because it was a habit that I established when our first daughter was a baby. I didn't know that it was a homeschool practice. It just seemed so natural to read, sing, play games with my young children. Over the years it contained lovely artwork and our own attempts at painting and music. And so much laughter.
The backbone of our Morning Time has always been read-alouds - from the Bible, history, geography, nature, science, poetry as well as all the wonderful fictional friends we have met along the way. I have been amazed that God can minister to our hearts even through fiction. We read the Paddington Bear series during a time of caring for a rather eccentric elderly friend, and Paddington helped us to laugh instead of express frustration. Recently when we desperately needed examples of courage, hope, and perseverance, we discovered The Green Ember series.
Morning Time now with ages 8 to 17 doesn't look the same as it did when all the children were little. In fact, it doesn't often happen in the mornings. With a couple teens who have part time jobs, we usually get together two or three evenings to read the Bible, read through our Memory Binders (filled with years of scripture, songs, poetry, etc .), and enjoy a read-aloud. The current ones are from The Wilderking Trilogy. More courage. More hope. 😊